forum I Should Hate you. . . But I Don't (Closed with Dayzed) (1/1)

Started July 21, 2023 by @RhysTheFirebird group

tune

Over the last week or so, Reo had decided he would try to spend more time with his friends. He hadn't realized it at first, but being with Darius had pulled him and his friends apart. So he'd been going out for luncheons and dinners. He'd missed cookoing for Darius a few times, and he'd always get dropped off by a group of friends after a carpool.

He was coming home even later tonight, it was almost 11 in the evening. He got out of his friends car, laughing, "See you guys Monday!" He pulls his keys from his pocket and walks to the front door, unlocking it and walking inside. Their apartment was on the bottom floor, and sometimes, it drove Reo nuts to hear people walking above him. He looks around slightly at the darkened apartment and moves to the kitchen, grabbing a snack bar and biting into it thoughtfully.

During the times that he and Reo spent apart, it was becoming more and more apparent to Darius that he was feeling awfully….lonely. Not that this was the first time he had felt that way, in fact, it had been a permanent state for him, but being with Reo kind of took that away…if only for the short time they had "lasted"- not that they had broken up or anything, but Reo never stuck around anymore.
Maybe it irked Darius, maybe made him jealous that he wasn't getting as much attention as he was before but there was an acknowledgment there that the way he was feeling was because of Reo and he saw that as a bad thing. Pinning the blame on the guy once again instead of thinking things through and coming to the conclusion that Oh, maybe I shouldn't have been an asshole to the one guy who tolerates my existence.

But Darius was Darius and just like whenever he had any problem, he turned to drinking. It seemed to run in the Satori family to avoid whatever it was that was bothering them by finding things that would take their "pain" away.
So when Reo came home late, Darius had been sitting in the kitchen in the dark- beer in his hand, silent so that when Reo went to get his snack, he was unaware of the fact that Darius was there too.
"Have fun?" Came Darius' voice, though it didn't sound like much of anything- no hint of jealousy even though he was drowning in it, no anger, not even sounding like a threat which was how his tone usually came off as.
He waited for a moment for Reo to answer, taking a swig of the drink. Darius seemed awfully calm for someone who was drunk to all hell.

Reo sighs softly, navigating himself through the dark as he reaches for a snack. He kept a small bin stashed with snack bars on the counter, as well as a bowl with fresh fruit. He reached for an apple, and at the sound of Darius’s voice, he jumped, his hip slamming into the counter, “Shit! fucking hell, Darius!” He snaps, pressing his hand to his hip. The apple was now discarded onto the floor.

He turns, facing Darius ad then reaches over to the light switch, flipping on the lights. “Jesus, you know not to do stuff like that. I don’t feel like taking a trip to the hospital tonight.” He says, his voice calm and soft again after the outburst.

He lightly presses his fingers into his hip, wincing and hissing at the tenderness there. “It was fine, I guess. Kinda boring to be honest. It was just some stupid movie night. The movie was boring.” He bends, wincing again and pick the apple up. It was still edible besides a small bruise on the side. He limps to the sink, pealing the small sticker off and washing the apple.

”Are you having fun drinking you life away?”

Darius arched an eyebrow at Reo jumping when he heard his voice, had he spoken that loudly? Maybe it was just others' natural reaction to him, which would make a lot of sense.
"What? Not like I was the one that knocked you into the counter" He muttered, though, he might as well have.

At the light being turned on Darius let out an audible groan as he placed a hand over his eyes, rubbing them before he placed his head on the table, using the top of his hand as a sort of cushion.
"Turn it off" He hissed, though, everyone knew that instead of being a violent person when drunk, he was a lot more docile for some reason. It was easier to hold a conversation with Darius when he was drunk. Sure, there were rare occasions when he hurt someone, but the majority of the time he just looked very tired as if giving his terrible explosive personality a break.

The moment Reo had walked in through the door Darius had been tense, like the roles had been reversed, but Reo's confession of his night out not having been that great made Darius melt into a more relaxed position, his shoulders dropping a little. It looked a little like relief, even though he knew that Reo's boring night out was probably a thousand times more fun than spending time with him.
At Reo questioning his life choices he looks up, shooting him a glare, watching as the guy picked the apple off the floor, a look of pain on his face.
"Yes, I'm having a blast," He said sarcastically, picking up the beer bottle and waving it around gently so the liquid sloshed around. However, the conversation quickly switched again, Darius driving it in a different direction.
"If you're not having a fun time out then don't go out anymore," He said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, but it was just to hide the fact that he didn't like Reo going out without him because god forbid he actually cared about something.

Reo huffs, “Starling me! You know I jump, like, a foot high when startled. I didn’t see you there. What the hell were you doing sitting in the dark? Waiting for me?”

He huffs, biting into the apple and flicking the light off, “Jesus, needy prick. . .” He mutters under his breath. He sits down across from Darius, looking at him. He watches the other man for long moments, just quietly eating his apple.

He reaches over and places his hand over the top of the bottle, not actually touching it, but his message was clear. A request for Darius’s attention and for him to stop drinking for the moment. He knew better than to actually touch or take the bottle, but he could try other methods. “Well, maybe if you weren’t in the house all the time, you’d enjoy yourself a little more. Come with me next time I go out.” He offers, looking at the other man.

“Because even if it’s a shitty movie, they’re still my friends. And going out is usually better than being here studying or something. NOt like we watch movies or cuddle on the couch or anything.”

(Man’s just called him out there :/ )

Darius scoffs at Reo's dramaticness.
"Waiting for you?" He asked, as if it were the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. "Who the hell would wait for you" He grumbles. Clearly him. He would wait for the bastard- though it's not like he had initially been waiting for the guy, he just had a habit of sitting at the kitchen table to drink when he had the place to himself.
Reo's words may not have been very easy to pick up, but Darius had and he froze. Needy? Him? Needy?? A prickly sensation sparked in his chest.

There was dead silence that cut through the atmosphere, Darius looked back up at Reo with an angry stare, his face flushed red from embarrassment. A rare sight.
For a second when Reo touched the bottle, the thought of smashing the bottle on the table near Reo's hand crossed his mind, just to get Reo to back off. Needy. He repeated in his head. No one had ever called him that. He didn't need anyone and he would die on that hill. He'd rather choke on his own blood than to need someone.
"Needy?" He questioned, not really letting it go- Reo seemed to have touched a nerve. "Don't fuck with me Reo" Darius said standing now, the chair scraping across the floor as it was pushed it back.

The offer of going out with Reo and his friends only seemed to be patronizing for Darius. What was he? A charity case??
"I don't need your stupid offer." He snapped, though, something akin to hurt flashed across his face. Darius? Hurt? A crazy thought.
Reo kept talking but at that point, Darius had heard enough. Movies?? Cuddles?? Anger bubbled up inside of him, but it was laced with heavy guilt and shame- something that clumped in his throat, his words stuck.

Had Darius been sober, it would have taken less than a second to drag Reo to the bedroom and beat the ever-living shit out of him. "Where did those bruises come from?? Reo!!" Darius would hear time and time again from his friends and Reo wanted him to hang out with them???
Darius had never taken it too far before, but Reo bruised easily so even just grabbing his arm firmly was enough to leave a mark.
"Fuck you…" Came his words, soft and breathy. He seemed defeated by the truth and didn't have anything to counteract that. He clutched his bottle, making a move to leave.

Reo scowls slightly, “Right. You’re never in here by the time I get home. Usually on the couch or in your room. I have a hard time believing you weren’t waiting for me.” He didn’t comment on the flush of embarrassment, looking at Darius quietly for a long moment.

“Man, you tell me to never cook for you and then I come home and there’s barely anything gone from the pantry. You wait up for me. Also, you always get fussy if I forget to do something you want me to do. You are needy, whether you admit it or not.”

Reo was probably making bad judgment calls right now. He defiantly was. But it’s fine. He’s the slightest bit tipsy, his friends having convinced him to have a drink or two. They all discarded the fact that he was not yet twenty-one, he still had a month or so left. Apparently being slightly tipsy gave him balls or something.

Reo lifts his hands, looking up at Darius, “Okay, okay. Fine, jeez. I just wanted to offer for you to spend time with me.” He takes another bite of his apple, looking totally unruffled at the moment. He chews slowly, swallowing before taking another bite.

At Darius’s last words, his eyes flashed with anger and then hurt. He sets his apple down, standing, pressing his lips together. “I am just trying to help, Darius.”

Every word Reo spoke was just another hit to Darius'- no one had ever, and I mean, ever called Darius out on his bullshit like this. The only ones who ever did were his family- and even then it was rare, but they were family. Everyone else was too scared to stand up to him, knowing Darius' attitude.

"I-I.." Darius looked speechless at the sudden bravery Reo had, wondering where that had come from.

There was a sudden breaking sound that came from Darius' side, having grabbed the bottle- swinging it so hard towards the wall it basically didn't stand a chance. Half of it crumbled into pieces, the liquid sliding down the wall as the other half was still intact in his hand. It looked like a very dramatic display from him, but his bottom lip was trembling now and it had been an attempt to "distract" him from his current thoughts- not really meant as intimidation even though it came off like that.

"You're always trying to help" He spat. "And everything's so easy for you- whyyy do you even keep me around Reo?" He asked, his voice bordering on being sing-song yet accusing. Darius placed his hand on the wall to keep himself from falling. "You say stupid things like I need a home or something and that you want me here, and you're always so….so kind," He said in an almost disgusted tone. He hadn't meant for it to come out that way, but it did.
Darius seriously struggled to grapple with the fact that Reo was who he was- how did someone like him exist? It confused him.

"Soooo stupidly nice…." He trailed off. "So fucking lovelyy…and perfect…" Darius wasn't looking at Reo anymore, looking tired now as he turned his head to look over at his room, the door open.

Reo jumps, a startled yelp escaping his lip as he jumps from the chair, leaping back. “Jesus, Darius, are you-“ He’s cut off by Darius’s sudden outburst, speechless.

He stares at Darius, moving forward, small pieces of glass crunching under his shoes. He moves around the bigger ones, moving to stand in front of Darius, “You think it’s easy? Easy dealing with everything you do? Jesus, Darius, it’s not. But I keep you around because I car. I know that must be a new concept for you, but I do. So I’m not going to kick you out. I’m not going to do anything to hurt you. I want you to be safe and happy, just like everyone deserves..

He blinks, his brow bunching as he tries to process Darius’s words. His head cocks to the side and he whispers, “Lovely? Perfect?”

Was he what? Drunk off his ass? Yeah. Yeah, he was.

Reo moving closer made Darius scowl, hearing the crunching underneath him. He ran his hand through his hair frustrated- he had never been good at putting his thoughts and emotions into words unless they were somehow related to the seething hot anger he felt.
"Obviously I'm not easy" He rolled his eyes. "I'm a huge pain in the ass- but so are you" He added, seeming like an afterthought. He didn't truly believe that but he had to make others believe that he did.
"Right, right, you care" He repeated, waving away Reo's words, not fully believing it, but starting to be open to the idea. Somewhere deep inside him was a discomfort to know that someone cared, but that was also not something he would say out loud.

Darius rolls his eyes again at Reo repeating his words. He wouldn't remember anything when he woke up the next morning, it always being like that for Darius but at least he was starting to be a bit more honest, even if he had to use alcohol to help him.

Because Reo was close enough to Darius at this point, he was in arm's reach for him to wrap his hand around Reo's neck. Though it was different this time, his grip gentle as he leaned in and placed a kiss on Reo's mouth, though not really following through with it all the way, letting go after another second and taking a step back, frowning.
"You taste different…" Was all he said before he huffed and turned around to go back to his room.